1

I have a PRS SE 245 electric guitar and to be able to get more jazz sound I want to restring my guitar with Thomastik Jazz Swing JS112. Since this guitar is not a hollow body and its neck is shorter than a normal jazz one, is there any technical issue that i need to consider?

enter image description here

enter image description here

I currently have Daddario EXL120 on the guitar which is the same gauge of strings with the factory ones.

enter image description here

Improve this question
5
  • 1
    012-050 will be very different from 009-042, in tension, and sound. And the intonation will most likely need changing - along with action and maybe neck relief.
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 9:00
  • I can take it to a local luthier so if it won't damage the guitar's neck or such i really would like to change its sound
    – kuti
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 9:12
  • 1
    Another alternative might be to put the luthier's cost towards another, more appropriate guitar..?
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 9:34
  • Would it cost that much?
    – kuti
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 9:41
  • Not having a clue where you are in the world, difficult to say - but £50-£75 in UK is par for the course. It's certainly the route I'd take - and have done several times!
    – Tim
    Commented Aug 13, 2021 at 10:20

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

I would not suggest changing this guitar from .009s to .012s without taking it to a guitar tech. The nut slots need to be sized to suit the gauges of strings on the guitar. Consider that the high E string on the new set would be .003 larger than the old one, and the low E string would be .008 larger than the old one; that is, the diameter of the new low E string is larger than the old one by almost the width of a light high E string. If the slots in the nut are too tight, the strings will bind there, and the guitar will not stay in tune as well. A guitar tech can widen the nut slots using a nut file for the new strings. If you wanted to go back to .009s, you could just change back, but it would be best to take the guitar back to a tech who can fill the nut slots and recut the nut for the lighter gauge strings.

Since the tension across the neck will change with the heavier strings, the truss rod will probably need to be adjusted to set the neck relief, and then the intonation will need to be set again. All this to say, going from .009s to .012s requires a setup, and a good guitar tech or luthier can do this for you.

If you just want to try out some flatwounds, TI makes flatwound .010s; you can probably get away with putting on some .010s without taking the guitar to a tech.

Improve this answer
1

is there any technical issue that i need to consider?

Just try it. By moving from 9s to 12s you will very likely need to adjust the truss rod, intonation and action. If you don't know how to do it, a guitar tech can do it for you. 12s are rather hard strings in standard tuning, but this shouldn't cause problems, especially on a shorter neck. The worst thing I can imagine is that the bridge runs out of the intonation adjustment range, but even that seems unlikely to me.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.